Summer Sidewalk Chalk

Well, things have cooled down a little bit the last couple of days, and we are grateful. It has been wickedly hot this summer. The yards and the residents have needed this overcast and moisture, pretty badly in fact. So when this respite finally came, Littleman and I snatched up our colorful, overflowing bucket of chalk and went outside to draw. 

I think we have a very artistic boy on our hands. He will sit for at least an hour on the kitchen floor with his colored pencils and a notebook. I get him started by drawing a few of his favorite things (i.e. ball, house, beep beep, choo choo, and lella) and then he is off. He will scribble and talk, point with his fingers, and call me over every once in a while to show off his handy work. I am always in awe of how long this simple activity will hold his attention. 

Now, move that outside with chalk, and you have an exponential amount of singular mindedness. He will not move from that spot until it is absolutely necessary, and even then I must drag him away. Today we were drawing outside when Superman called and needed a ride home from the Trax station. We had just barely sat down to start coloring on the sidewalk and already I was going to have to persuade the boy it was time to go. Yeesh! That was not a task I wanted to undertake without being properly armed.

So I ran up the porch steps and collected the diaper bag and my shoes. Then I quickly ducked inside to grab the one and only thing I knew would trump sidewalk chalk. A brand new Hotwheels. I dashed back outside, started cleaning up the chalk, and when the protests started I handed over the car, still in the packaging. "BEEP BEEP!" he exclaimed. Then he passed it to his other hand, admiring it diligently. I quickly cleaned up the rest of the chalk, stashed it in the garage, and loaded the kid in the car seat, all without a single squawk. I opened the package for him and he didn't stop talking about his new "blue beep beep" the entire drive. 

Yep, this was one moment as a mommy when I was on the ball. Today, I got this!